Thank you, Mkhondo Muncipality

21 Oct, 2015

Prompt response and action by the Mkhondo Municipality in solving the severe pollution of the Dorpspruit and Assegaai River, is sincerely appreciated.

The Excelsior News, being the voice of the community, often have to report on issues brought to the news team’s attention by members of the community at large. These issues are not always positive ones and it is therefore very satisfactory and even pleasing to have problems addressed and solved in a proper way. After the accidental discovery of the polluted water, by a reporter, the Municipality was contacted and they immediately reacted, doing their own investigation and working on successfully solving the problem. This was done to the advantage of all residents of Mkhondo. On behalf of the community, the Excelsior News therefore hereby sincerely thank the Municipal Manager, Mr M. J. S. Mabuza as well as Mr Jele and his team from the Water and Sanitation Department, for addressing the said pollution problem in such a fine manner. Everyone will be looking forward to the clean, unpolluted water after the the sewage spill has been cleared up.

The Municipality Ensures Implementation of Pollution Emergency Plan I want to respond to the article on “Severe pollution of ‘Dorpspruit’ and Assegaai River” that was published in the Excelsior News of 25 September 2015.

The Municipality appreciates and commends the role played by members of the public and media to bring forth things that affect the community in general. We have since streghthened our service delivery emergency response plan. Upon receipt of the inquiry from the local print media, we immediatly visited the sites mentioned in the article to investigate the cause of the problem. It was with regret that we established that the spillage was caused as a result of blockage of the sewer line from the abattoir. In response to the problem, we instantly deployed our technical team to clean the spillage. We appeal to the community and businesses to seek asistance from the Municipality in order to address such challenges.

Our service delivery emergency response plan also establishes proper clean-up interventions and safety measures that are followed during sewage spill. We invite members of the public to report such cases to ensure that pollution does not affect the environment and community from the potentially harmful effects associated with sewage spills. A meeting was also arranged with the Piet Retief Abattoir to eliminate the frequency of sewer blockages as a result of abattoir operations. The Municipality is commited to the protection of the environment through maintenance of sewer infrastructure.